Maturing Hearts
by DaHaloChick
Summary: With a certain wedding fast approaching, Rock Lee finds himself lost on what to do with himself. Maybe Gai giving him some Genin with a serious need for Taijutsu lessons will take his mind off of things...Rock LeeOC


_**Maturing Hearts**_

_By DaHaloChick_

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**AUTHORS NOTES: **Naruto belongs to its creators, not me, as always! Saeka Moriko is mine, though.

What inspired this story, in all honesty, was Rock Lee's feelings for Sakura. When I watched the first chunk of the Chuunin exams, I really felt for Rock. I found him to be so heartfelt, as well as very powerful and an all-around good guy. I got an author's itch to create someone who could soothe him, especially since I happen to love the idea of Sakura with a certain blonde Shinobi, dattebayo...

Anyway, I hope you like it. I guess you might think its a bit AU or maybe just OOC for Rock Lee, but I imagine him...calming down, lets say, as he gets older, rather than being all crazy like Gai is.

Review and comment, please, its always appreciated! Enjoy!

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Gai took in a breath. He hoped his former student would be ready for this challenge, one they had not yet faced. "Alright!" he cried, "You are my last squad to place with a specialized teacher. You should count yourselves very lucky; your Sensei is one of the best around! Students, this is your Taijutsu instructor, Rock Lee-Sensei!"

The students bowed, and Rock Lee looked each of them over, trying to gauge what he could like Gai had taught him. He took a moment as he watched each of them to remember what he had been like as a Genin.

He'd been eager, maybe a little too much so. Restraint was a lesson that Gai had put much importance on to teach these new students. He had learned that lesson years ago.

He spent time with his new Genin, introducing himself to them. The two boys in his squad reminded him a lot of Neji Hyuuga; stoic and full of confidence. His biggest concern was the third member of his squad.

Saeka Moriko was her name. She was a petite girl with soft brown eyes and short blonde hair. She watched him and listened to his every word as he explained what he expected of them, and she nodded along with her teammates, but as he went on, he could almost see her self-confidence crumbling. She would need a lot of work and a lot of support. He remembered how much Gai had given him in that department and he immediately knew he would have to do the same for this girl.

He spent the first day putting them through some physical tests to get a sense of what areas of Taijutsu they needed the most help in. Ironically enough, while the boys were, for all intents and purposes, well-rounded, Saeka was said to be quite adept at Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but her Taijutsu was horrendous at best. Her lack of confidence resulted in off-kilter strikes and awkward landings. She'd hurt herself badly if he didn't give her help soon.

"Alright, we're done for the day. You all did great jobs! Keep it up; don't lose this fire you guys have! We'll meet back here at the same time tomorrow!" They bowed and went to walk away, but he put a hand on Saeka's shoulder to stop her. "Saeka…if you don't mind, can I have a word with you?"

"…Of course, Sensei." She turned around, looking half-scared. He sighed, figuring she probably thought she'd done something wrong.

"I've heard that you have great talent with your Ninjutsu and Genjutsu—"

"But I'm horrible at Taijutsu. I know." She looked down. "I'm sorry, Sensei…I've tried so hard to work on it, but I can never quite get it—"

"Saeka, look at me." She looked up at him. "That's why you're here. I'm not criticizing you. I'm trying to tell you that it's _okay_. I wanted to see if you would be able to spare some extra time for training. I want to work one-on-one with you to try and help you with your Taijutsu. Let me tell you a secret: When I was a Genin, I _only_ studied Taijutsu."

Saeka's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because I can't even _do_ Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Gai was my Sensei when I was a Genin, and rather than working me to death on those, we concentrated on just Taijutsu. That's why it's the only thing I teach." He smiled. "But I think you can do Taijutsu! You just need to believe that and be committed to it! Put your heart into it!"

She stayed silent for a few moments before smiling slightly. "You know, Rock Lee-Sensei, I believe that your heart is the most important thing you have. I listen to my heart with every decision that I make…but I know I'm not good at this."

"If you weren't good, Saeka, you wouldn't have made Genin, plain and simple. We aren't fools; if you couldn't do it you wouldn't have been allowed in this far, and believe me, I've seen many students rejected as Genin. In my heart of hearts, I believe in you, Saeka."

Her smile widened, as if his words meant the world to her. "Thank you Sensei...if you really do believe in me that strongly…then I can try and learn to believe in myself, too! Whatever you think I need, I'll do it!"

He smiled. "That's the spirit! Alright then, after training tomorrow, stick around and we'll put some extra work in, okay?"

"Thank you so much, Sensei…you have no idea…" She simply smiled gratefully, turning and running off with more energy than he'd seen from her all day.

His face fell. She wanted so badly to prove herself to him; he could see that in her eyes. She couldn't get past her own negative feelings about herself.

He remembered his burning desire to prove himself against who he had felt were the two most powerful fighters at his Chuunin exams: Sabaku no Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha. He had since let that pass, of course. But then again, there were many things he had let pass since those days.

His mind wandered to memories of pink hair and a soft smile. Although he seemed fine on the outside despite what many of his friends had claimed, inside, he was indeed heartbroken. Sakura had been so happy, she probably hadn't even thought about his feelings when she'd run around showing off the engagement ring the Hokage had given her.

Sakura and Naruto. He had never seen that coming. He thought he might have had a chance after Sasuke had left, and he continued to try and make advances, but it never worked, and now, she was getting married. He knew she'd invite him to the wedding and, like a fool, he knew he'd be there for her. Even if she couldn't love him, he would not let Sakura Haruno out of his life. She was a light, a happiness in his world that he could turn to when needed, always full of kind words and sound advice. Still, not even her light had been able to counteract his own inner darkness as of late.

Yes, he had much in common with his new student. They both had things they needed to deal with and, perhaps, through putting his might and energy into helping Saeka, they could both find something to hold on to while moving on from their inner demons.

He was right. The next few weeks proved fruitful on many fronts. He was able to avoid thoughts of Sakura while teaching Saeka his specialties, and she had improved greatly simply from his belief in her. She was accomplishing things he barely instructed her on, and he quickly realized it was not lack of skill that had been holding her back, but lack of support.

As he began to spend more time with his new student, he learned much about her. Her parents were not ones to be admired. They had been strict with her, giving her no freedom to make friends or indulge in interests. Instead, they kept her sheltered, instructing her on being a housewife until they could, as she had said they put it, 'find a man who would be dense enough to take you.'

The repression put on her by her parents had made her want to travel, see the world, meet people, help people. When she finally broke down and told her parents she wanted to be Kunoichi, it caused severe problems. Eventually, they let her go and do it, confident she would go running back to them.

"That's why, Sensei," she had said to him in a shaky voice. "That's why I can't give up, even if I am bad at this. My heart can't take anymore of my parents. I need to follow what my heart wants instead of what they want. I need to do this for myself; it's the most important thing I've ever done. I need to stick it out and become a great ninja and make my own path!"

Her words had touched him to his very core, and he couldn't get them out of his head. The more he knew of her, the more he began to see her as a strong, determined woman rather than a self-loathing little girl. He had to keep on forcing himself to cease thoughts of her more and more often, afraid that, in his grief over Sakura, they would turn into thoughts that would cost them both dearly.

Saeka got better and better, more and more confident, and as Naruto and Sakura's wedding came and went, Rock Lee's heartache did as well. She was too happy for him to be angry at the situation any longer, and he had to start preparing his students for the upcoming Chuunin exams now.

Rock Lee led his students up to the building he knew all too well, where his students would face their first real challenge in their path to becoming Chuunin. "Alright, this is it. The three of you are _ready_ for this, I know you are! Believe in yourselves, use what you've learned, and do your best!" The boys cheered and ran off, excited to join their fellow Genin and start the exams.

Saeka, however, was taking deep breaths, preparing herself to walk forward. "You are ready, Saeka. You just need to believe in that." She nodded. "I do Sensei. I do believe that!"

He nodded. He reached into his pocket, his own breaths now heavy in his chest. He had thought this over countless times, but it had to be done. "I want you to have this, Saeka." He handed her an envelope. "I don't want you to open this until you make Jounin, do you understand?"

"Jounin?" she looked at him questioningly. "But I'm not even Chuunin yet! What if I don't make Jounin?"

"You will!" he said. "If you want to read it so bad, you'll just have to make _sure_ you make Jounin, right?"

Understanding, she smiled and nodded. "Right!" She turned and ran, putting the envelope in her own pocket. Rock Lee couldn't contain a smile as he realized the boys had stopped and waited for her, slinging arms around each other as the three of them walked off together. Teaching them teamwork had gone off without a hitch as well.

Rock Lee had never felt more pride than at that very moment.

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Saeka grinned as she hugged her teammates, cheering and celebrating along with them. She adjusted her green vest with pride.

Finally, she was Jounin. After all of her hard work, after being pushed so hard by Rock Lee-Sensei—no, she reminded herself, its just Rock Lee now, they were officially equals—and her teammates, they had all made it.

Their celebration lasted far into the night, going out to eat and drinking sake. While the boys were all chattering about what great adventures they'd go on and what enemies they'd defeat, Saeka burned to see her parents again, to show off her new status and let them know with some not-so-nice words that they had been dead wrong about her.

Saeka finally went home at some ungodly hour, flopping onto her bed with a giggle. She couldn't wait to use what she'd learned to help people. She couldn't wait to see the world. She couldn't wait to see Sensei and—

She frowned. She had never gotten the chance to see Rock Lee at the celebration, and she figured it was because he was far too busy. She would see him in the morning, she promised herself. She had so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to thank him for…

She shot up. The envelope! She darted out of her bed, rummaging through her small desk.

He had told her not to open it until she'd made Jounin, and she had kept that promise. Still, she often wondered what was inside, and now, she could finally find out. She gripped it, excitedly opening it and pulling out the paper inside.

She unfolded it, reading the words printed there. She felt her heart fall and rise again as she swallowed hard. Her face flushed at the words. She couldn't believe what she was reading, but there it was, in front of her…

She dropped the letter and ran. She couldn't wait any longer.

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Rock Lee had no idea what time it was, nor did he care. He was too busy enjoying himself, sitting with his former teammates at the ramen stand, celebrating the success of their own students.

"They grow so fast. I understand now why Gai felt so passionately about us," commented Neji.

Tenten nodded excitedly. "To see them succeed and know you helped them do it…aww man, I'm gonna cry!" Rock ruffled her hair to make her laugh to spare her the tears.

Neji yawned. "I should be getting some sleep." Tenten nodded in agreement. "You're not even tired, are you Lee?"

Rock Lee shook his head. "No way, I'm wired!" They both laughed.

"Alright then, we'll see you tomorrow!" he waved to his friends as they paid and went off to their respective homes.

He took a few extra minutes to indulge in the warmth of the ramen broth before finally deciding he was finished with his meal. He paid and thanked the workers, hopping off the chair and going to get some sleep of his own, simply out of sheer boredom.

"Sensei!!"

Rock Lee spun, seeing Saeka run towards him. "Saeka, what are you doing up this late?" He grinned. "And don't call me 'Sensei' anymore, we're both Jounin now!"

When Saeka reached him, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. He blanched, unsure of what to do with his former student clinging to him.

He looked down at her and couldn't resist putting a hand atop her head, rubbing it gently. She must be filled with so much pride and excitement, and she deserved every bit of it. He muttered congratulations to her, but he realized her embrace was for a whole other reason when she looked up at him and he saw the look in her eyes.

He swallowed. She must have read the letter he'd given her, those words he'd written so many years ago that he knew still held true and never wavered after all of this time. Those words that were so hard for him to write, yet he knew he could not go without letting her see or hear them. The words he'd written from the deepest depths of himself.

_I know, Saeka, that right now, as a Genin, you are just starting on your own path to happiness. I am honored to be a part of that path. You believe a person's heart is the most important thing. I felt that once too, and forgot that, and you made me remember._

_Although your heart is not mature as of now, when you reach your goal and your heart has matured, I hope that you will consider letting your heart be mine._

Saeka had never believed that he could feel that way about her, and since she had felt these things for him for a while now, but as he held her close and joined his lips with hers, she knew they'd both never doubt each other in anything ever again.

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I hope you enjoyed it! Review, please, constructive criticism is always welcome!


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